10

BYRON

"What do you mean there's nothing there? He was in form less than ten minutes ago. What kind of hormone metabolizes in ten minutes?"

"I don't know, sir. There's nothing there."

"Rerun the test. What the hell am I paying you for if you can't detect a simple hormone?"

"Dr. Umansky, I ran the test four times. There's nothing there. Maybe if I knew a bit more about what I'm looking for—"

"You don't need to know! You only need to know what I tell you. And I only need to know why the hell you can't get me the results I ask for!"

Well, it's safe to say Umansky is mad.

The sedative wore off a long time ago, but I keep my head bowed and resist the urge to smirk at the frustration in his voice.

I've filed that name away for future reference, along with his son's, little Maxie Poo. Gonna gut him once for being a shit and again for scaring my mate.

They may think I'm entirely out when they gas me, but my wolf is always a little there, listening at least. And, through the fog, he heard Maxim refer to Umansky as "Dad."

If things go according to the plan I've finally figured out how to implement, neither will leave this place alive.

Slowly, I lift my head and fix on my usual grin. "Problems?"

Umansky and the scientist he was berating spin to where I'm strapped to the table, their eyes wide.

"You said he would be out for the rest of the day."

"He was supposed to be. Let me check—"

"Forget it. Why would I expect you to get anything right at this point?" Umansky waves the man away, and the scientist scurries out, tripping over a chair in his haste.

"Things not going to plan?" The sedative is still dragging at my system, but I manage to sound bored, and I'm satisfied when Umansky's face goes flush with barely contained rage.

Ah, there it is—the family resemblance with his ticking time bomb of a son.

"This means nothing. If we can't get what we need by turning you, we'll just cut that gland out. It may take us twice as long to trigger and replicate the hormone, but I'm fine with that. Now, you could buy yourself a little time and give us the answers we want, but that's up to you."

"Do your worst if you like wasting time."

His brows lift at the fact that I've given a reply. It's a change from the silence I've offered to every reference he's made to what I am since he took me.

"What do you mean?" His scent carries the faintest whiff of interest.

"I mean, you're going to cut it out, and what, play ping pong with it? What do you think it will do once it's outside of my body?"

"Are you saying that I can only analyze the hormone if you're alive?"

I smirk. "Cut it out and find out."

It's a wild-ass bluff, but now that I have a plan, staying alive is crucial. I'm hoping to get a little help with setting things in motion later when Aida arrives, and if I have to bullshit until then, so be it.

My mind drifts to the woman of my dreams. The remnants of our time together last night linger in my thoughts.

Waiting to see her today is like waiting to take in air. I don't know if I can't remember what being fated was like before or if this is so much more. After the closure of Qamrah's appearance and the surety of my wolf, there's nothing left to question.

I've had her. The claim has been sealed, and our connection will only grow. Our dreams will only get more vivid.

As it is, the lingering instinct to take her against every surface of this lab has me on the edge of shifting, which I can't do because it would give them what they need.

But, man, my wolf wants her again in the real world—bad.

"Oh, we'll cut it out, and you'll suffer. You know, we don't know how anesthesia is going to work on you since you keep waking up, so we've decided to go without. Guess we'll see if it's true that your people have a higher pain tolerance."

I blink back at the man before me, although my mind stays on Aida. "Which people would you be referring to?"

He only responds with a smirk, so I take a deep breath, flaring my Black-ass nose wide and causing his expression to fall.

"What are you doing?"

"Memorizing your smell so I can hunt you down later."

He goes beet-red again, his eyes hardening.

It's cute that this little man thinks I'm scared of him.

"When we're done here, it won't matter what you will and won't tell us, and I can assure you there will be no later ."

I let my mouth creep up. "You think? If I can smell you for miles , all the way to your little rented condo—what twelve miles away—you don't think someone is following my scent right to these doors?"

His eyes shift nervously, but then he draws up as much as possible. "I can assure you, dog, that no scents are getting out of this lab."

"Thank you. That's good to know. Scents are, however, getting in, and I can tell you, they're close."

Maxim has been in the corner this whole time, silent for once, and when his father looks toward him, he snorts. "Let ‘em come. The more test subjects, the better."

My brow raises to tell him what I think of his chances, and his jaw ticks in response.

"No matter what you say, we'll know either way later today. Maxim," Umansky jerks his head toward the door, and the guard glares at me again before they leave.

Outside the lab, the pair stop where I can see them through the glass window.

They probably think I can't hear what they're saying, but the sounds that have trickled through the supposedly soundproof door have given me more information than I expected.

I focus on their slightly muted voices but pretend not to pay attention in case they look back.

"I'm canceling the surgery."

"What? Based on what that dog said? You know he's full of shit." Maxim flings his arm in my direction, his face going red.

"That dog is the only chance we have to get this right. Do you know how long it took us to get one of them, how many men we lost? We can't wait another six years for a chance like this. I can't wait, and neither can our funders. They want results soon, and if we kill him and it doesn't work, they won't be patient."

"Who gives a shit about a bunch of sick old dudes who think this is going to be some miracle cure for them. Cut the fucking gland out, get me that serum, and I'll hunt them down and tear them to shreds."

It takes all of me not to laugh.

Why do people think being our kind is like the movies? That we walk around in too much leather and rip our shirts off to turn into bloodthirsty beasts.

Even if their ideas about us are stupidly wrong, it doesn't mean that any attempts to experiment on us shouldn't be stopped.

I focus back as the two continue talking.

"Dr. Eberling will be here in any minute. She's turning out to be more of a nuisance than I thought she would. You'd think someone like her would be happy to have a job, but they're never pleased."

"Why don't we just find another doctor and take her out of the equation."

"We could do that, but that would only raise unnecessary questions. And she has a daughter. We'd also have to take care of her, which might be messy."

"I could do it, make it clean. After that shit show last year, she doesn't got no one. I made sure. That's why we chose her in the first place."

My body jerks before I realize it, my heart racing, my skin twitching with the shift.

The doctor sighs, seeming to consider it, and I let my wolf creep forward. Depending on his answer, I may be unable to control what happens next.

"No. It hasn't come to that yet. And despite the annoyance of keeping her on board, she's unfortunately the only one who can do this. There's no time to find another scientist."

"Shit." Max looks like he hates his father's decision. "Want me to have a word with her when she gets here, make it clear what will happen if she doesn't toe the line?"

"Yeah, do that. Make sure she knows we're watching her every move. If she tries anything, she'll regret it. Use the girl if you have to. Although, as much as that little girl hates her mother, I doubt it'll make a difference. You know how they are."

I close my eyes and master my wolf. I conjure up scenes from our time with Aida—the molten lava of her eyes gazing up at us, her warm breath sighing as we stroked her deep. I let the memory of these sensations calm him until he no longer wants to rip these men to shreds. However, the man in me sees blood when they open again.

I've waited long enough, and I will have to trust the fates and hope they haven't steered me wrong.

The men walk away, and I sit back and wait.

***

I smell her before she even gets into the lab.

She didn't put on her perfume today, but it lingers beneath her bath gel and the detergent she uses too much of in her laundry.

There's another smell on her, too. It makes my wolf preen.

The moment she walks in, I can see that she's trembling. Her steps are quick and jerky, and she doesn't look me in the eye as she touches her tablet on and fumbles around for the stylus.

"What did they say to you?"

Her lips are pinched in annoyance, and her eyes are glossy as she blinks to look to the side.

"Tell me, Aida. What did they say to you?"

She clears her throat and brings a hand up to massage her neck. I can tell she's trying not to cry.

"Tell me!" It emerges on a growl, and she jumps, finally bringing her eyes to mine.

They can hear us. She mouths, her eyes shifting up toward the ceiling.

I nod.

"Uh, Mr. McCanty, there's been a change of plans, and we will proceed with more endurance testing today. Do you understand what that means?" She still looks pissed, but there's a silent communication between us that lets me know that whatever Max said, it hasn't cowed her.

"I understand." It means they're going to try to force me to shift again by putting my body through duress.

She dips her head and stands, walking around to pick up the long syringe from a tray. "I see you've been prepped. I'm going to inject you with a stimulant. It will cause an increase in heart rate, some dizziness, and some jitters."

She takes the syringe in hand, but instead of coming over to me, she walks to another drawer and silently pulls it open.

I watch as she picks up a new syringe and lifts a vial from the drawer.

It's saline.

She fills the syringe and pockets the original one before coming over to stand behind me.

I hold still, and a moment later, I feel her fingertips smooth over the back of my head, where Maxim roughly dry-shaved the skin bare before she got here.

"They nicked you." Her voice is soft, and her touch gentle. "That fucker." She mumbles the insult directed at my captor and uncaps the syringe with her teeth.

"This won't kill you, Mr. McCanty, but it will hurt. Please prepare yourself." She's letting me know that she has to stick me to make this believable.

I give a nod and brace myself.

I barely feel the needle prick. And despite her shaky hand of a moment ago, her movements are sure as she slides it deeper and deeper into the back of my head.

They're going to expect a reaction.

Realistically, if Aida was injecting me with a stimulant, I'm not sure what would happen, but if I do nothing, they might check her and find out she switched the injection.

I hold still, scrambling for something short of shifting to make them think I'm being affected, and when she's reached the gland, I draw in a deep breath, open my mouth, and howl.